Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1887-05-14

nd looked 6 the foCo.
We med o. dreamingf IL
plocs q fear. There lay my beafsilow, h,s
iyes end mouth closed, bresthing regularly
md aleepine apparently - peaccful ~ the
most hoolthtul Of infantA There IVES nos the |
.lishtsst indication Of death sny~ ~here about
Lief, end In another II wss not That had
sesn MIN dead i've minutes before was, 10
my mind, not open TO dispute i WAS salts.
fed The. could not have dreamed .. mol IT, amS
nation. Even YET could feel the pressure
Of that dead hand upon my breast "Ah!.
said 70 myself, al will touch that hand and
IN, IN ooid and dessS like II still iay scrc:s
his own breast where II had dropped when
its hold upon me relaxed. l reached out tO
take IT, wheu the sleeping man moved. 1
He did not however, and I returned, still in.
tent upon investigating the phenomenon that
had 20 distressed me, only 10 lind that the i
hand that wished to touch had been placed |
disturbing the sleeper, was impossible
After the experience had just gone
through could not bring my mind 70 20 to
bed again. l accordirgly dressed myse,f,
and, taking an old newspaper from my
sas fTo ~ nS =; ana
vertisements and all, stopping every now
and then to wonder over the dead face had
seen and the dead clutch i had felt When
the gray light Of early dawn made .ickly the
was still far from the solution Of the mystery,
nor did Wynkoop himself do ything toward
solving It, when, upon his waking, told
him, In somewhat modified terms, of the
fright had had. At first he seemed startled
and then distressed, but finally regained his
att was the prospect Of seeing triple ex.
ecution, " he said, as he stepped down to see
ka;. Aka Ill
| which hung much too low for him. "iou
are not up TO It, l am afraid. You were
| dreaming. Hold OreaminH-thst Was It
AS the modest old lady remar ked-you had
the nighthorseI
IL
vepssapcs gear is mine' l will repay saith the
With his finger pointing to these words in
the Book Of books Clement Wynkoop, cold
/ In death, was discovered one morning six
| months after our irst meeting, sitting In an
armchair In the parlor Of . magnificent suite
Of apartments in an uptown hotel in New
York city. A packet OF papers found In the
room, and addressed to me, contained the
following letter and extracts from the unfor
tunate mans journal:
The letter was dated midnight
| al do not know why l should have se.
lected you, 1t began, "ss the person to
whom to commit before / go hence, the ~
cret that for the last year and bali l have
carried as the spartan boy carried the wolf 1
| am impeled to write, however, lmpellei by
an indeecribable something that tells me to
make full and free confession to map, -
we'll ss to God, Of my crime and my punish.
ment And with the impulse to write comes
| also the impulse to address that confession to
you. This must be my apology. Perhaps
the fact that you already know something of
| my aflliction--for you will remember 1t
when recall certain incidents of our first
meeting st Berryville six months ago-has
had somewhat to do with my selection of .
legatee beg Of you do not make public
the facts Of my sin and my suffering under
two years from tonight BY that time my
faults will, perhaps, have been In Q measure
forgotten and men will be apt to think
more kindly Of me and give me . larger
share of their sympathy than it the story
was given when my short comines aud ldio-
syncrasies were fresh in their memories to
| mitigate the pathos OF the tala Some day l
wish you to tell it l wish 1t told because,
possibly, may save others from = late q
"Iu . few hours / shall have passed the
| veil which hides the other world from this
You will find me sitting here in this chair
and the newspApers-yours and mine anc
People will want to know why l died. Tel
. | them because OF physical suffering which
9 | had grown unbearsole-that will look vel
!. In print This is ali that the coroner's Jur,
need know for the purpose OF verdict
81 have resolved that my last hour shall
be bright one. do not want to go out o
! | my misery In gloom and darkness My life
(; | has been gloomy and dark enough, Goo
knowa It's last moments shsll bs ss brlgh
! as can make them. / have chosen snC
paid literally for the best room in the hotel
8 | ] have lighted every gas jet in the apart
3 ment l have fruit beside me OF which
: shall eat before die have wine, too, and
, | with the wine shall get my release have il
| here before me as / write. little vial con
| tanning dozen drops or less OF Scheels's by
drocanic acid. 1t Is an easy death, they say
My heart beats will grow slower and slo wer,
more feeble and more feeble, until they
have ceased altogether, and l shall have
passed away from all the toll, the WEAKNESS,
the regret, the modification aud the agony OF
this life into the-whst? A few hours will
tell. Speculation Is vain. Before 1 go
shall burn every pspar l possess Every
trsee OF my past life shall be gone except
| what Is contained in the pages IRON my
journal that shall select and leave in q
packet with this letter tor you. Don't judge
me too harshly. Think OF me kindly some
timea - have thrown open the windows
| and raised the shades to the top l feel the
cool midnight air tanning my face for the
last time In an hour all will be over F"
, The letter broke OIL thus. There was nc
formal ending, just as there had been M
formal beginning.
The inclosed extracts from the journa
%Cnicago, Dec. as s7s-Hsrd work yes
terdsy attending Christmss oelsbrstions
When II was all over, Potter, Stevenson,
| and some others spent the rest of the nigh
at Gibbons place. Metaphysics aud religion
! the gubjscts OF conversation. As usual,
laughed at the idea OF celebrating the birth OF
humbug Poor little Potter Is supers,i
tious little tool, with reverence lsrk ely
developed. He was horror. stricken at the
way talked, ana rather believe he thought
! was bossting but l was not l Cifsred TO
bet him months pay he could not prove
that there was any reality in the God he be-
lieved in.
/ a.
said. "
q, Your God is sll-powerful, is he not ;
l asked.
"To be sure, he replied.
"'lf ne be all-powerful, " l added, " let
him strike me dead. defy him !"
"Little Potter turned pale q. what he
termed my 'dsmnable olasphemy.' I
laughed at him, for there was no sign of that
all-poweriul beings existence. l still stood
erect and smiling. Potter said his God
would not deign to notice such threat. My
challenge was beneath the considers alton OF
the supreme ruler Did think could call
down bis visible wrath at my own sweet
wilif 1t was presumption. Poor little
| Potter!
"Jsnuary /, lsS0-A week has passed,
| during which time have not had the cour.
age to write. Even now do not know how
70 tell the story. am ashamed to confess 1t.
Am psrslyzsd or sm / dying by inches
| Can II he that there IL Q God aud that he
| heard nv threat? 1 d0spise mvsalf Tor